FIRST Media Policy

FIRST is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make the Internet a safer place for everyone. Because FIRST's members recognize that effective communication is essential to this goal, we appreciate that attendees may want to take occasional personal photographs at official FIRST events.

However, as FIRST wishes to encourage technical discussion of potentially sensitive security topics, limit misunderstanding, and maximize privacy of those participating in that discussion. We have the following rules regarding photography, video and audio recordings. For the sake of simplicity only the term photography is used, but the policy applies equally to other types of recordings:

Per our Code of Conduct, you should not photograph individuals who do not wish to be photographed (“inappropriate photography”).

Photos taken at FIRST events that identify individuals must not be shared publicly without gaining the explicit permission of those individuals. Exceptions may be granted by the FIRST Board for professional photography as specified below.

Many presentations provide great opportunities for photography. It is typically permitted to take photos of presenters while presenting content, and any content shown on stage. Presenters may demand that no photos are taken at all.

When a presenter identifies during a presentation that all or specific content should not be photographed, attendees must comply with that request. A presenter may flag this by having a “No Photo” sign up during the talk, or by including it in her or his written or spoken materials.

Professional photography (for commercial use, media use, or public publication) is only permitted by accredited journalists who have pre-registered in compliance with our Press Policy, or those authorized prior to the event by obtaining permission from first-sec@first.org.

FIRST may make pictures of events available to participants. Individuals may ask that certain pictures of them be removed by contacting first-sec@first.org indicating the picture and give a brief reason.

FIRST may use pictures taken at events for promotional purposes.

Suspected violations of this policy should be reported and will be acted upon as described in our Code of Conduct.